Wrench



n. c. EVANS. WRENCH, APFL ICATIDN FLLED JAN- IL 1920.

P tented Mar. 15, 1921.

INVENTOR; C. EVA/v A TTOFINE Y8.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD C. EVANS, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, ASS IGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO 3. H. ERICKSON, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. Patented Mar. 15, 1921.

Application filed January 12, 1920. Serial No. 351,019.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD CpEvnns a citizen of the United States, residing at bt Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wrenches, of whlch the following is a specification.

My invention relates to wrenches, and particularly to wrenches having fixed jaw and a slidable aw. An ob ect of my n vention is to provide a slidable jaw which can be easily and readily moved by hand into contact with the object to be gripped by the wrench and which can then be tightened upon the object so as to prevent liability of the wrench slipping. Another object is to provide a wrench in which the act of turning the wrench causes the ob ect to be so firmly gripped as to preclude slipping and damage to the corners or edges of the nut or other object which is engaged between the jaws ofthe wrench.

The full objects and advantages, of my 111- vention will appear in connection with the detailed description thereof, and the novel features embodied in my inventive idea will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings wh cli illustrate the application of my invention is one form,--

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of my wrench. Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation in which a portion of the fixed jaw has been removed. 7 Fig. 3 is a view in section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 4 is a view in section on the line 44 of Fig. 2 looking in the direc tion of the arrow. Fig. 5 is a detail View showing the sliding jaw in released position.

As shown in the drawings, the fixed jaw of the wrench for convenience in manufacture consists of two members or parts and 12, secured together by rivets 14, 16 and 18,

the rivets 16 and 18 passing through extended portions of the fixed jaw members. A portion of the interior faces of the members 10 and 12 is removed so as to leave a cylindrical opening 20 and a space hav ng flat walls 22 at the front of the opening 20, and also a space having fiat walls 24 at the rear of the opening 20. A slidable jaw 26 is formed with a cylindrical portion 28 which is connected with the jaw proper by a re duced web portion 30. The cyllndrical portion 28 is slidable in the opening 20 and the web portion 30 is slidable in the space within the fixed jaw formed by the walls 22. A pm 32 on the side of the cylindrical portion 28 1s slidable in a slot 34 formed in the member 12 of the fixed jaw. The rear of the cylindrical portion 28 is provided with ratchet teeth 36 and at the bottom of the space formed between the walls 24 is a pro ection 88 formed on its upper surface with a concave wall 40. The projection 88 closes a portion of the space at the bottom of the walls 24 and this projection may be formed integrally with the fixed jaw member 12, the

rivet 18 passing through the projection and both of the extended portions of the fixed jaw. A handle member 42 is provided with an end portion 44 which is reduced in thickness so as to fit into the space formed between the walls 24, and part of this end is formed on the circumference of a circle whose center is at the center of a hole extending through the reduced end. The handle is pivotally attached by means of a bolt 46 passing through a hole in the jaw member 10 and the hole inthe reduced portion 40, this bolt being screw-threaded into a screw-threaded hole in the jaw member 12. The end portion 44 is provided with a cylindrical transverse recess which rockably re ceives the cylindrical end 47 of a dog, the other end of which at 48 constitutes a detent for engagement with the ratchet teeth 36 when the handle 42 is moved about its pivot toward the position shown in Fig. 2. In order to hold the dog in engagement with the teeth 36, a coiled spring 50 has one end thereof inserted in a recess in the handle portion 44 and the other end of the spring encircles a projection 52 on the dog. When the handle is turned upwardly around its pivot upon the bolt 46, as shown in Fig. 5, the dog comes into engagement with the projection 38 and is moved against the tension of the spring 50 so that the slidable jaw is free and can be moved by hand within the limits permitted by the pin 32 working in the slot 34.

The operation and advantages of my'invent-ion will appear from the above description. When the dog 48 is in the position shown in Fig. 5, the fixed jaw is placed in contact with one side of the nut or other object to be turned and the slidable jaw is pushed by hand into contact with the other side of said object. Upon applying prescated is continued. 15

sure to the handle in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 5, the dog is released and engages underneath one of the ratchet teeth 36; Upon continuing this pressure, the slidable jaw is forced firmly'into gripping engagement with the object so that the latter can be turned without liabilityof the wrench slipping. When the handle 42 comes into the position shown in Fig.2, the dog engages the closed portion above the walls 24 of thefixcd jaw and the dog is locked in engagement with the ratchet teeth 36 as long as pressure in the direction incli- It is evident, therefore, that the act of turning the wrench causes the object to be very firmly gripped by the jaws of the wrench. Upon exerting pressure upon the handle in the opposite direction, the dog is moved into the position shown in Fig. 5 and the slidable jaw is released from its gripping engagement with the object.

Iclaim:

1. A wrench comprising a fixed jaw, a handle member pivotally attached to said fixed jaw, a. portion of the interior of said fixed jaw being removed to provide a cylindrical opening extending transversely with relation to said handle member and to provide flat walls at both the front and rear of said cylindrical opening, the forward end of saidhandle member extending between said rear flat walls, a slidable jaw having a cylindrical guiding portion attached to'its main portion by a web portion, said cylindrical portion fitting slidably in said cylindrical opening and said web portion fitting slidably between said front flat walls, said cylindrical portion being provided on its rear with ratchet teeth, a dog pfivotally mounted on the forward end of said handle member, a spring for normally holding said dog in engagement with said ratchet teeth, and means on said fixed jaw for retracting said dog when said handle member is turned backwardly on its pivot.

2. A wrench comprising a two-part fixed jaw, means for securing said parts together, a handle member pivotally attached to said fixed jaw, a portionof the interior faces of said parts of the fixed jaw being cut out to provide a cylindrical opening extending transversely with relation to said handle member, and to provide flat walls at both the front and rear of said-cylindrical opening, said handle member'having a reduced forward end extending between said rear fiat walls, a guiding portion attached to its main portion by web portion, said cylindrical portion fitting slidably in said cylindrical opening and said web portion fitting slidably between said front fiat walls, a pin on said cylindrical portion extending into a slot in said fixed jaw, said cylindrical portion being provided on its rear with ratchet teeth, a dog pivotally mounted on the forward end of said handle member, a coiled spring having one of its ends mounted in a recess in said handle memberand its other end engaged with said dog for normally holding the latter in engagement with said ratchet teeth, and a projection on said fixed jaw for engaging and retracting said dog when said handle member is turned backwardly on its pivot. i

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

RICHARD c. EVANS.

slidable jaw having a cylindrical 

